


Fun in the sun

by thespeckledbandicoot



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-17
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2020-03-07 02:14:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18863671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thespeckledbandicoot/pseuds/thespeckledbandicoot
Summary: Bucky just wants to survive his summer job selling ice cream at his local amusement park. Luckily there's something (or someone) worth seeing every day at work





	Fun in the sun

**Author's Note:**

> I finally finished a mandatory fun day prompt on time!
> 
> This is my first Winterhawk fic and my first fic in general in a long while so while I'm not quite happy with it, I just wanted to get it out there.

Bucky Barnes hated his life. He hated his job. But most importantly he hated Steve Roger's. 

Steve Rogers, who managed to look fantastic in a baby blue polo and khaki shorts, Steve Rogers, who got to sit in a shady gazebo and do caricature drawings all day, Steve Rogers, who got them the jobs at this stupid amusement park in the first place. 

Steve Rogers, who was probably busy making doe eyes at the artist and talent manager Natasha Romanoff, while Bucky pushed an overloaded ice cream cart through throngs of screaming children and tried not to run over anyone. Some way to spend your last summer before college, thanks Steve.

He finally maneuvered the cart into position and popped up the garish blue and yellow umbrella.

He had barely unlocked the cash drawer before he was surrounded by sweaty tired parents and sugar fueled rowdy children. He took money and made change as quickly as he could with one functioning hand, passing out frozen treats and trying to keep, if not a smile, then at least a neutral expression on his face. He had had one too many grouchy parent complain about his resting murder face to ignore his superiors.

A job at an amusement park had sounded great when Steve brought it up. Free entry during the week on days off, discounts for friends and family, and easy work with his best friend. 

He didn’t think about the fact that Steve had a marketable talent and that they would not, in fact, end up working together. He also didn’t think about the fact that working at an amusement park meant dealing with the people who went to amusement parks. Every day. For the whole summer. 

When they offered Bucky a job in food services he thought maybe he’d be stuck in a boiling kitchen all day, deep frying tenderloins and blooming onions, and coming smelling of fryer grease and sweat. Getting stuck pushing an ice cream cart was better and worse in some ways. He enjoyed that he wasn’t stuck in a steaming building, that he could stretch and walk around and basically have free roam of the park.

And there was one exceptional perk that Bucky had never expected. He surreptiously pulled his phone out of his pocket to check the time and edged his cart into a better position. 

See, the park employed a variety of entertainment acts for people who didn’t enjoy all the thrill rides or carnival games. 

There was the stage outside the burger shack that alternated between “Strange and Lang”, an Odd Couple magician act and “Dr. Banner's Science Hour” that had interactive science experiments for kids. The covered gazebo hosted a story time and puppet show led by a pair of siblings with either very real or very convincing slavic accents. There was also a roaming trio of guys who did covers of boy band songs through the eras, and if Bucky had to listen to them wail their way through “September” or Milli Vanilli one more time he was quitting, Steve’s puppy dog eyes be damned.

But then there was his favorite act. Every day at three, five and seven by the ferris wheel, there was a juggling duo. Since his first week, he had plonked his cart down behind the bumper cars at two forty five and six forty five as many days as he could, in the perfect place to watch them work.

Or more accurately, watch HIM work. The duo was comprised of a young girl and boy, probably around Bucky’s age or a little older. The girl was petite withlong black hair, had a biting wit, and was most definitely the brains of the operation. And the guy was every wet dream Bucky had ever had rolled into a person. Tall, blond, ripped, funny, and clearly a walking disaster, that he always managed to charm the audience into thinking was part of the act. Given that he never messed up in the same way twice and always had a charming flush on his freckled cheeks made Bucky think it was genuine.

They called themselves Hawkeye and Hawkeye and they were both incredibly talented. Not just at juggling, which they seemed to be able to do with any size, shape or number of objects, but also at acrobatics. 

They started off pretty basic, three and four balls, tossing higher and higher, back and forth. Then their act got absolutely nuts. They would juggle one handed, contorting themselves into insane shapes and positions, flipping and jumping and back hand springing and rarely dropping a ball, or pin or ring.

The move that got Bucky though, the move that caught his attention the first time and had him staring, dumbstruck, while a fudgesicle melted away in his hand, was when the guy lifted the girl, with one arm, and pressed her, seated, above his head, while she was juggling, and then HE JUGGLED WITH THE OTHER HAND. Bucky had very nearly popped a boner right then and there. He had definitely pissed off some sweaty people waiting in line. 

And then he had been an idiot and told Steve about the guy. 

Steve had immediately volunteered to have Natasha introduce them and Bucky had threatened to strangle him if he so much as a breathed a word to his boss- “Especially if it’s just so you have an excuse to talk to her. Ask her out before you go messin around in my love life, you hypocrite.” 

So Bucky pined from afar, and daydreamed about those biceps pushing his cart for him or lifting him into the air like he weighed nothing.

He kinda figured if he watched long enough he’d get bored of him, like he tended to do with pretty empty faces. Instead, he noticed how bright his smile was, how much he joked around with his partner, (girlfriend? He tried not to think about it), how focused he was when he was juggling or tumbling.

So he was wrong, but that was typical. He settled himself in to nurse a crush until the end of summer, when he would head off to college with his engineering scholarship and forget all about this.

It was working pretty well until the end of July, on a hot humid day when Steve had the day off, and decided to drag his buddy Sam with him to the park to harass Bucky while he worked and take Sam on all the rides Bucky refused to go on with him. (There was no point to the Underground, it wasn’t a real rollercoaster and the animatronics were so old they didn’t move right anymore.) 

In the interest of not getting caught staring at his crush, Bucky was avoiding the ferris wheel as much as possible. 

He actually managed to avoid Steve for most of the day too, until the park was about to close and everything went to shit. Steve showed up, popping suddenly out of the dying crowds like Bucky’s worst nightmare, with Sam and the juggler duo walking behind him. 

He made eye contact with Steve, trying his best to convey all of his rage and betrayal into one glare, which of course Steve ignored.

“Hey Buck, there you are! We’ve been lookin all over for you.” Steve was grinning ear to ear. “Hey you know, Clint and Kate right? They’re part of entertainment.” 

“Yeah, I think I’ve seen you around. Jugglers, right?” Bucky was impressed with how even his voice was. “I’m Bucky Barnes.” He stuck out a hand, resolutely ignoring Steve’s cat who got the canary grin. 

“Kate Bishop, and this is Clint Barton.” The girl stuck out her hand shook his firmly. She was taller than he had thought and her grip was firm and sure. Then the guy, Clint, took his hand, and he was taller too, and his hand was so warm and calloused and big, and Bucky looked up into that smile and he just-

“I heard you liked our act,” Clint said, his smile a little shy, but pretty, and confident none the less.

“Yeah, uh you’re, I mean, you guys are really uh… talented.” Bucky stammered. He kicked himself internally, he was cooler than this damnit. “Do you guys want… ice cream?” He gestured lamely at his cart. 

Kate clapped her hands, “Yeah Clint, buy me ice cream. You totally owe me for walking Lucky yesterday.”

Clint let go of Bucky’s hand (was the reluctance there real or was Bucky just hoping?) and dug out a beat up purple ducktape wallet. “Yeah okay Katie-Kate. Get whatever you want. And I’ll have a bomb-pop.” 

Kate picked out an chocolate ice cream cup and Sam got a drumstick cone, and Steve got a boring frozen yogurt popsicle and Clint got his bomb-pop. And Bucky could not stop watching him. He wasn’t even doing anything overtly sexual, he was just there and talking to Bucky and as funny, and charming and gorgeous as he had always seemed and Bucky’s crush was on fire.

The rest of the night flew past and then it was time for Bucky to turn in his cart and his cash box. He reluctantly parted ways with Clint and the rest when he had to behind decks to return his equipment.

When he left the employee exit though, Clint was there leaning against the fence, looking a little nervous. “Hey! Um, Bucky, so I don’t know if maybe you,-” He seemed to catch himself. “Okay so look, Steve didn’t really say anything, but I kind of got the feeling that maybe you and I could-” Bucky grabbed his hand and Clint stopped short.

“Let’s go grab a burger.” Bucky said, Clint’s hand warm in his. And then Clint’s smile was warming his face, and he was nodding. 

“Yeah, yeah let’s grab a burger.” 

Later that week, Natasha Romanoff showed up at Steve’s caricature station, wearing a stunning black bikini top and cutoffs, demanding Steve draw her. Steve’s face was redder than her hair.

Bucky and Clint would swear they hand nothing to do with it, but in the background of Steve’s drawing, there was a brunette and blond, holding hands and grinning at each other like nothing else existed.


End file.
